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Amelia Earhart: Researchers claim metal 'patch' found on Pacific island is from aviator’s lost plane Amelia Earhart: Researchers claim metal 'patch' found on Pacific island is from aviator’s lost plane
(about 4 hours later)
An aluminium patch found on a remote Pacific atoll in 1991 has been identified by researchers as a piece of Amelia Earhart’s lost aircraft, and could help solve the mystery of what happened to the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean.An aluminium patch found on a remote Pacific atoll in 1991 has been identified by researchers as a piece of Amelia Earhart’s lost aircraft, and could help solve the mystery of what happened to the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean.
Researchers at The International Group of Historic Aircraft Recovery (TIGHAR) believe the patch was fitted onto Earhart’s plane during her eight-day stay in Miami, 1937, her fourth stop during her attempt to circumnavigate the Earth at the equator.Researchers at The International Group of Historic Aircraft Recovery (TIGHAR) believe the patch was fitted onto Earhart’s plane during her eight-day stay in Miami, 1937, her fourth stop during her attempt to circumnavigate the Earth at the equator.
“We don’t understand how the patch got busted out of [the plane] and ended up on the island where we found it, but we have the patch, we have a piece of Earhart’s aircraft,” Ric Gillespie, executive director of TIGHAR, said.“We don’t understand how the patch got busted out of [the plane] and ended up on the island where we found it, but we have the patch, we have a piece of Earhart’s aircraft,” Ric Gillespie, executive director of TIGHAR, said.
The patch is understood to have been fitted in place of a window during Earhart's stay in Miami   TIGHAR has spent millions of dollars searching for Earhart’s missing Lockheed Electra in a project that has involved hundreds of people, and next year it will begin a fresh search for the aviator’s plane based the patch.
TIGHAR has spent millions of dollars searching for Earhart’s missing Lockheed Electra in a project that has involved hundreds of people, and next year it will begin a fresh search for the aviator’s plane based the patch.  The patch, measuring about 19 inches by 23 inches, was discovered by researchers in a 1991 voyage to the island of Nikumaroro, in the Republic of Kiribati, situated between Fiji and Hawaii.
The patch, measuring about 19 inches by 23 inches, was discovered by researchers in a 1991 voyage to the island of Nikumaroro, in the Republic of Kiribati, situated between Fiji and Hawaii. It has been described as being “as unique to [Earhart’s] particular aircraft as a fingerprint is to an individual,” by TIGHAR, due to the size and the pattern of rivets that directly relate to a window on the Lockheed Electra that the patch replaced during Earhart’s stay in Miami. It has been described as being “as unique to [Earhart’s] particular aircraft as a fingerprint is to an individual,” by TIGHAR, due to the size and the pattern of rivets that directly relate to a window on the Lockheed Electra that the patch replaced during Earhart’s stay in Miami.
 
TIGHAR states that the identification of the patch has “bolstered” speculation that a sonar anomaly, which has  been detected at a depth of 600 ft off the west end of the Nikumaroro island, is in fact Earhart’s missing plane.TIGHAR states that the identification of the patch has “bolstered” speculation that a sonar anomaly, which has  been detected at a depth of 600 ft off the west end of the Nikumaroro island, is in fact Earhart’s missing plane.
The organisation is planning on returning to the area next year with its Remote Operated Vehicle on a 24 day expedition, while divers will search for other wreckage at shallower depths.The organisation is planning on returning to the area next year with its Remote Operated Vehicle on a 24 day expedition, while divers will search for other wreckage at shallower depths.
The Pacific island of Nikumaroro, an uninhabited coral atoll where researchers believe the wreckage of Earhart's plane could be near But the news of the patch has been met with scepticism by some aviation experts. Dick Knapinsky, spokesman for the Experimental Aircraft Association, said: “How do you establish that a piece of aluminium belonged to a certain Lockheed Electra unless there’s a serial number or something on it?”The Pacific island of Nikumaroro, an uninhabited coral atoll where researchers believe the wreckage of Earhart's plane could be near But the news of the patch has been met with scepticism by some aviation experts. Dick Knapinsky, spokesman for the Experimental Aircraft Association, said: “How do you establish that a piece of aluminium belonged to a certain Lockheed Electra unless there’s a serial number or something on it?”
Additional reporting by ReutersAdditional reporting by Reuters